Former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez patient for next big career opportunity

Ricco Rodriguez (42-11) just wrapped his 10th fight since July 2009, and he’s fallen short just once – by decision. At 32, he says he’s in the best shape of his life.

Of course, that’s a pretty common statement among fighters plugging away in the prime – or twilight – of their careers. But for Rodriguez, a former UFC heavyweight champion who’s seen more highs and lows than most, it feels genuine.

And while he feels poised to make a return to the upper echelons of the sport, he’s not waiting with hat in hand for a big time contract.

“I’ve never asked, and I’ve never approached anybody,” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I’m waiting for the right time.”

With the way things are going, that time might be approaching. After a well-publicized battle with drugs, alcohol and weight, Rodriguez’s current life bears little resemble to the one portrayed on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab.” He’s found sanctuary in Baton Rouge, La., where he’s taken the helm of an LA Boxing franchise in town and teaches a growing base of students. He regularly trains with UFC veterans and lifelong Louisianans Rich Clementi and Tim Credeur, who each run separate gyms about an hour away.

Once 330 pounds and, depending on who you asked, a joke or candidate for a pity party, Rodriguez hovers between 225 and 230 pounds. That’s less than what he weighed when he took on and defeated Randy Couture for the UFC title at UFC 39. Now, light heavyweight is not out of the realm of possibility – he weighed a svelte 218 pounds at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Submission Fighting Championships – though he says he’d like three months and a nice paycheck to make the 205-pound limit.

The important thing is, he’s turned his life around.

“I’m just focused on really fine tuning my game for that moment that I might get that call and step up to the big leagues and get that opportunity,” Rodriguez said.

Recently, it seems he’s been inching ever closer to such an opportunity. At July’s DREAM.15, he was supposed to meet Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, which many observers felt was a very winnable fight. In the end, it was not to be; the bout fell apart when Overeem revealed that he never agreed to the fight, and Rodriguez sat the event out when light heavyweight Gegard Mousasi turned down a fight with him (Mousasi fought his originally scheduled opponent Jake O’Brien despite O’Brien missing weight by seven pounds). But it proved that marquee promotions who may have initially been skeptical about his comeback now take him seriously.

“They’re all available,” Rodriguez said of the promotions interested in him. “It’s just whether we want to take the offer, and the timing is right. Bellator’s put something nice on the table, and I believe I’ll be doing some work for them in September. I wish I could have gotten into that heavyweight [tournament], and if somebody gets injury, hopefully, I’ll get that opportunity.”

As to the biggest promotion of them all – the UFC – Rodriguez said his return depends on a move to light heavyweight.

“They want to see me make 205 once, and (get) a win at 205,” Rodriguez said. “They said they’ll give me an opportunity in the UFC.”

But while he would certainly love the opportunity to redeem himself inside the octagon, he’s in no rush to sign the first deal that comes his way.

“I’m only going to get one shot at it, and I know that when I get that one shot, I want to be the best Ricco Rodriguez there is,” he said.

For now, winning fights and representing himself well is enough. He’s unconcerned whether his reality show image continues to follow him. The way he sees it, the show was a difficult time in his life from which he’s moved on.

“It’s like this: you go to church (and) you confess your sins,” he said. “Does anybody cast you for your sins? No. You go, you pray, and you ask for forgiveness. I did mine; I asked for forgiveness. I got a lot of help. A lot of people have the feeling that they need to judge me, or they have to say that I’m a bad person. When I go and confess all my sins, I feel bad about what I did. That alone should be enough.

“Apparently people want to judge me for what I’ve done. It doesn’t bother me, but I’m sure it didn’t help me at all. I see a lot of people come up to me and give me a lot of recognition for what I did. If it can help other people get their life back together, I think that’s what’s important.

“Sometimes you step off track, but it’s how you get back on and do what you need to do.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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